Window blinds, referred to as Venetian blinds or mini-blinds, are well-known window treatments. Generally, window blinds include a top header, slats or louvers, and a bottom header (also known as a footer). These pieces are usually held together with cords, strings, or the like. Manufacturers and retailers sell window blinds in various standardized sizes, with custom sizes available. However, custom-sized window blinds are costly. Furthermore, time is required to measure the window and to make the custom-sized blind, and then to deliver it to the consumer. To be cost-efficient, it is desirable to have the cutting process take less than four minutes.
Efforts at providing a faster and cost-effective way to generate custom-sized blinds have been made. In general, these devices first cut one side of a blind and then the other side, such that the end cords are symmetrically disposed with equal lengths of blind on either side of each end cord.
Some of the conventional cutting machines employ air cylinders for driving the cutters. The air cylinders automate the cutting of the blinds, thereby requiring less manual input from the user.
In conventional blind cutters, blinds are held in place in numerous ways. For example, some cutters have openings that fit the header, footer, and slats of the blind. Others use a clamp for fixing the blinds in position.
Examples of U.S. patents for machines that cut blinds include U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,557 to Wang, U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,126 to Pluber, U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,172 to Wang, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,394 to Marocco.
The conventional cutters are used in stores that sell blinds to consumers. Relatively unskilled workers perform the cutting. However, the workers using these cutters must be strong enough to lift and rotate the blind after a cut is made on the first side of the blind. Blinds can weigh up to thirty pounds. This heavy weight makes rotating the blinds a difficult task for many workers.
Furthermore, holeless blinds, such as the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,140 to Tuzmen, which lack cords that hold each slat in place, have recently been introduced into the market. Many of these holeless blinds have slats or blades that are free to move. This further complicates the rotating process that must be performed between cutting the two ends, because slats can slip out of the blind. Thus, rotation of blinds is difficult for many workers, with the accidental disassembly of blinds sometimes occurring. Reassembling a disassembled blind is difficult, if not impossible.
Moreover, a rotating clamp is useful for clamping and cutting additional items, such as louver packs (i.e., packages of blind slats), and materials made of wood, plastic, and the like.